Nacogdoches City Council approves utility improvements, emergency utility contract

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) -The Nacogdoches City Council met Tuesday night and approved several items, the first being a contract for utility upgrades in Festival Park.

This project is estimated to cost around $106,000. This is a project done in two phases through capital improvement funds for downtown and festival park utility upgrades.

The current layout of electrical and water services at the park makes it difficult to fully utilize the space for larger events without closing Main Street. This project reroutes both electrical and water services 30 feet a part down Fredonia Street for better use of the space.

“We are not adding additional power to Festival Park, and mind you I am not an electrician and so I speak in more general terms, we had a bundle and we’ve just stretched it out. We did not add any more to it,” Community Services Director Brian Bray said.

The total budgeted capital improvement plans for this project is $350,000.

The council also approved a contract between the City and Duplichain Contractors for emergency utility installation and repair services.

The Assistant Public Works Director Case Opperman said due to a shortage of workers, they need help fixing utility lines in emergency situations. This is a one-year contract that costs $200,000.

The money is already worked into the budget’s capital improvement funds. Half will be paid from the water line repair budget and the other half will come from the wastewater repair budget.

“We’ve talked about doing this in the past. The situation we find ourselves in kind of moved us forward in pulling that trigger at this point in time,” Opperman said.

The council meets again at the beginning of May.

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